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I purchased a Sony DCRSR40 in January 2007 to replace my previous camcorder, also a Sony DCRSR40. Do not fear, it didn't break, it was stolen out of my car! I have been phenomenally impressed with the quality, durability, and abilities of the little machine. Lightweight, sturdy, and dependable, this camera has become an instant point of envy at family outings, get-togethers, and any event where I see reason to film. The DCRS40 boasts a generous storage capacity (30gb) which is capable of storing your videos and photos directly, rather than being forced to use discs or memory cards. After you record, you dock the camera to your computer, upload the videos for editing, or you can burn all of your footage directly to a DVD with a single button present on the camera dock. The camera has both a video and photo mode. Both operate on a 640x480 pixels aspect ratio, a respectable quality for a home video camera. Enthusiasts looking for a higher quality image for professional videos may consider Sony's DCRSR60, or DCRSR80, which boast higher megapixel capabilities. One of the most noticeable and most user-friendly features of the camera is the LCD touchscreen. The viewscreen for previewing, and reviewing your film, is also your menu and navigation window. From your touchscreen you are able to access your recorded files on the hard drive to review or delete, adjust modes for effects like sepia and pixelate, and adjust all the settings within your camera. My personal experiences with the camcorder's durability have also been impressive. I will admit to having accidentally dropped the camera on both a carpeted floor and to a paved parking lot from a height of three to four feet. My experiences with other cameras told me that if you drop it, or even bump it against something, the lense is likely to break loose and become impossible to focus. In both instances, the Sony DCRSR40 turned on and performed perfectly, every feature and ability perfectly in tact, all of my files perfectly safe on the camera's hard drive. There are a few more features that make this camera a desireable buy. Included on the camera's exterior are nightshot-mode and backlighting buttons available for quick, on the fly ability to adjust lighting properties, or see in a perfect dark. The Sony DCRSR40 is an excellent hard drive camcorder, containing all the features and dependability to satisfy even the most fickle of enthusiasts, and most can be found at a price well worth the technology it contains. That being the primary reason I chose to replace my stolen camera with the exact same model. One final useful trick I've found concerning this camera: I recall a time in which I needed to transport a large file from one computer to another. The file was well above seven gigabytes and I, without a 7 gigabyte jump drive or burnable DVD, found myself in desperate need of an external hard drive. A light came on and I realized that I had one! I quickly pulled out my camera and plugged it into the first computer, I placed the large file on the camcorder hard drive in a separate folder I created, unplugged the camera from the first computer and into the second, and took the file back out! Following that I removed the large file from my camera and took the liberty of a clever chuckle. Who would have thought that a digital video camera could be so useful? The Sony DCRSR40 is an excellent camera and great buy, I would recommend it to anyone browsing the camera market.Read full review
I love the small size and touch screen. It is very easy to use and only took me a few minutes to set up, charge, and I figured it out with minimal help from the instruction manual. It has good image stability for it's size. I bought it in a package deal...the camera was by far the best item in the package...other items were a little cheap. The pictures are ok, but I would use a digital camera for those if at all possible cause there is not a really good flash.
This camcorder gives excellent picture quality and zoom features in a light weight tiny package. I was shocked to see just how small and compact this camcorder is. The only thing that I would down it for would be the touch screen. It becomes diffilcult to access some options using the touch screen due to the size of some of the options on the screen. Other than that everything is very high tech and easy to use. A great buy for anyone wanting a dependable camcorder at a mid range price.
Camera has battery that lasts long. Even though viewfinder doesn't exist and you have to use large LCD if you want to see what you are filming, battery lasts almost 2 hours.You can film blind and make it last even longer. Nightshot plus is not bad if what you are filming is not too far. There are couple of significant problems and one of them is that camera has big difficulties with focusing in the night even though objects are fairly lighted. Second problem is lens closure - it is not automatic but in a form of cap ? It seems as bad joke from Sony. And the last, there is no strap to put around your neck, just the one on the right side to put your hand through. Raw data: 800k pixels, 30x optical zoom, 2.5" LCD, 30 Gb Hdd.
I bought this unit to replace my even older Digital 8MM Sony TRV-120. There is no comparison between the two when it comes to size. The new Unit is less than half the size of my older 120. Hi-8 and Digital 8 tapes are getting expensive and Fire wire is also a pain to use on modern computers, so I am Very happy with this new camera having a hard drive for recording and USB for transfers. Here is the only two places this newer Sony falls short: 1. The Night Shot function is far less effective then the older Hi-8 models 2. A docking station is required to transfer the videos onto your computer or TV. Other then that, I Am happy that I got this newer Sony, and hope that it lasts at least as long as my 1998 unit did!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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